Shoe insole with moisture absorbing agent



July 10, 1951 H. MILLER ETAL 2,560,120

SHOE INsoLE WITH MOISTURE ABSORBING AGENT Filed Aug. e, 1949 l? Ius lo W 2 2/ INVENTORJ HAROLD MILLER BY Amm Klant-5H Patented July 10, 1951 OFFICE SHOE INSOLE WITH MOISTURE ABSORBING AGENT Harold Miller, Bronx, and Anita Kiedisli, New York, N. Y.

Application August 6, 1949, Serial No. 108,884

3 Claims. l

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in renewable insoles for footwear thereby to provide a readily applicable insert to be worn in and at the bottom of a shoe or the like; and, more particularly, the aim is to provide a novel and valuable such insole having therein a suitable moisture absorbing agent and an insole which at the same time is so constructed and has its component parts so arranged that, with some of said parts cushioning elements spacedly placed over the expanse of the insole, said elements (a) act as underlying resilient supports for all or the more important of the foot bones and joints, (b) function as partitional instrumentalities which establish a plurality of passages at the interior of the insole with a moisture absorbing agent positioned in one of the passages beneath an arched instep, and (c) provide passages adapted to act, in response to pressure from the foot, as suction exhibiting mediums for drawing moisture laden air from the feet toward and over the moisture absorbing agent.

The passages are provided in part by said cushioning elements, and in part by under surface portions of an upper sheet member included in the new insole, and in part by upper surface portions of a lower sheet member included in the new insole. These two members may be of any suitable strong and fairly flexible material. Preferably they are both inclusive of a single section of rubber sheeting, and with the lower one of said members preferably continuously and unbrokenly extended, that is, non-perforate; but

with the upper one of said members perforated `or equivalently foraminous at various points verlying the passages.

As the invention is further preferably carried out, said perforations are merely at locations at the fore part of the new insole, sothat the perforations will be localized over the part of the insole to underlie the toes and the intertoe crevices all the way back to at least about the root portions of the toes, where, as is well-known, the perspiration from a foot, and sometimes highly offensively odorous perspiration, is chiefly exuded; and, in combination with this feature, the said upper member of the new insole is so made. over a length of the latter starting a little distance at the rear of the rearward limit of the perforated area, and extending all the way back to the heel portion of the new insole, as to constitute one type of two-ply structure. At the same time, the main rearward portion of said upper member, as the invention is further preferably carried out, while also so made as to con` stitute a two-ply structure, provides another type of two-ply structure because inclusive of a lower ply of fairly stiff sheet metal, plastic or the like, this last-named ply fixed in position immediately below the top sheet component of the aforesaid upper sheet member;4 which top component is desirably a thin andv tough textile fabric, as a woven one.

The aforesaid rubber sheeting included in the upper sheet member is, in view of the inclusion on said sheet member of said metal or plastic lower ply thereof, of less length than the rubber sheeting constituting the aforesaid lower sheet member; which latter member extends unbrokenly over the entire length of the new insole.

Said fabric sheet, or equivalent, at suitably spaced points perimetrally thereof, has tonguelike integral extensions for adhesive attachment to outer edge portions of said cushioning elements where the latter have their said edge portions at or substantially at locations marginal to the new insole.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view showing a now favored embodiment of the invention; this view being partially broken away at `the uppermost textile ply, and, within the limits of such break, also partially broken away at the part of the ply immediately underlying said textile ply and, particularly, at said metal or plastic ply.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view, taken substantially on the line 3 3 of Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. l.

Although the new insole need not necessarily be provided as rights and lefts, that is preferable; and the showings of the drawings may be taken, in regard to the illustrative embodiment of the new insole there shown, as indicative of an insole pursuant to the invention shaped for insertion in a shoe to be worn on the left foot.

Referring now to said drawings more in detail. and by reference numerals, the aforesaid cushioning elements, spacedly pla-ced with special relation to the bones and bone-joints of the human foot. include in part a group of six of said ele- II and I2, and both of rather large area, are

placed as shown best in Fig. 1. Two further of said elements, and not so largeas the elements II and I2, are located about as shown at Il and II. Two finally complementary of said elements, these respectively designated II and I1, are at the toe end of the insole.

These twelve cushioning elements, cut from say a sheet of sponge rubber of the thickness desired when uncompressed. are at any rate to be made of suitable softly resilient material.

Overlying the entirety of the top of the insole is the aforesaid topmost textile vlayer or ply, Il. For assisting in flxedly positioning all ythe cushioning elements in place, this ply Il is cut so as integrally to have a plurality of tongue-like extensions I9, each for securement, as by a suitable adhesive, to a different one of the said cushioning elements, for instance in the manner shown in Fig. 3 in regard to the cushioning element I I.

In Fig. 1' a somewhat obliquely inclined line, at its central portion in full delineation and at its terminal portions in broken delineation, will be observed, crossing the insole generally laterally.

This line, traversing the cushioning elements I l and I2, marks the rear limit of a ply 2l directly 4 tween the adjacent edges of the elements Il and I2 to form an arch support for the arch of the foot rested on the insole. There is a relatively large space between the adjacent edges of the elements III and I2 and a. moisture absorbing member 30 is secured to the top face of the ply 22 in the space between the elements IIJ and I2. When underlying the play Il; said ply 20 being the aforesaid rubber sheeting. and the same having the aforesaid perforations therethrough, said perforations being marked 2| and being shown as seven in number. With the said plyv 2l held against facewise shift relative to the ply Il, as by the aid of a coating of. rubber cement or the like between these two plies, seven perforations through the ply I8 are matchingly located relative to the perforations 2| as shown.

The line identiiled in-the second preceding paragraph marks, also, the forward limit of the aforesaid thin metal or plastic secondary ply, the latter marked 22. By the use, here also, of a suittable 'adhesive in the form of acoating between the ply Il andsaid secondary ply 22, said plies I2 and 22 may be bonded against facewise shif of one relative to the other.

It should be appreciated, however, that the already mentioned securement of the tongue-like extensions I! to the cushioning elements Il-I'L plus other securements, all these conveniently effected by the aid of appropriate adhesives, all

the parts are securely locked together against any relative movement other than those deliberately prevised as elastic compressions of said cushioning elements consequent upon walking by the wearer 'of the new insole or otherwise occurring movementsof his foot-bones; among such parts being included theilnal complementary part, to wit, the bottoming ply, as aforesaid desirably of rubber and designated 23.

The jlt mentioned .other securements, are adhive bondings of the tops and bottoms of the cushioning elements'to. respectively, the plies 2l and 22, and the ply 23.

' Thus, between the top and bottom sheet like signatures of the new insole, and particularly between the cushioning elements I I--I'I, dependthe top plies are squeezed toward the bottom ply 2l by a force applied to the top of the insole, the upward arched portion of the top plies will prevent moisture absorbing member 3|)y from being compressed under the weight. All of the passages between the plies 20 and 22 and the ply 23 are in communication with the moisture absorbing member 30 and as pressures are alternately applied and relieved during walking, vthe action of the elements III, II, I2, I4, I5, I6 and I1 in being compressed and released will function vas a pump to cause the moisture laden air within the shoe to be forced through the passages to contact the moisture absorbing member 30 and cause the air to be relieved of its moisture. l

Said agent may be any suitable one, as for instance, such a composition as is specified in the now expired U. S. Patent No. 1,144,291, dated June 22, 1915. lSuch agent may be, for instance. in the form of a loose powder, or such powder. or a solution containing the same, has a constitution like that of blotter lint, raw cotton or the like.

From the foregoing, the marked advantages of the present concept, in attaining the objects hereinabove rst recited, should be apparent.

While we have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the precise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A laminated insole comprising a flexible onepiece bottom ply, a two-part upper ply spaced above said bottom ply a plurality of spaced cushioning elements mounted between the adjacent faces of said plies with their outer faces ush ably permanently established passages 2l are with the outer edges of said plies, said cushioning elements having their inner ends stopped short of the longitudinal center of said plies leaving passages between their adjacent sides and along the longitudinal center of said plies for the circulation of air andthe insertion of a moisture absorbing agent, and a flexible covering ply secured in position over the top face of said upper ply, said covering ply in the areas of its periphery aligned with the outer faces of said cushioning elements having dependent tongue-like extensions secured to the outer faces of said cushioning elements.

2. A laminated insole comprising a exible onepiece bottom ply, a two-part upper ply spaced above said bottom ply a plurality yof spaced cushioning elements mounted between the adjacent faces of said plies with their outer faces flush with the outer edges of said plies, said cushioning elements having their inner ends stopped-short of the longitudinal center of said plies leaving passages between their adjacent sides and along the longitudinal center of said plies for the circulation of air and the insertion of a moisture absorbing agent, and a ilexible covering ply secured in position over the top face of said upper Ply. said covering ply in the areas of its periphery aligned with the outer faces of said cushioning elements having dependent tongue-like extensions secured to' the outer faces of said cushioning elements, said upper ply being divided along a. laterally extended line into a front piece of rubber sheeting and a rear thin metal piece.

3. A laminated insole comprising a flexible onepiece bottom ply, an upper ply spaced above said bottom ply, said upper ply being of multiple part formation, a plurality of spaced cushioning elements mounted between the adjacent faces o1' said plies and with their outer faces flush with the outer edges of said plies, said cushioning elements being of a lateral length less than onehalf the width of said vplies and positioned on opposite sides of the longitudinal center of said plies resulting in passages along the longitudinal center of said plies and between the adjacent sides of said cushioningelements for the circulation of air, and a covering ply secured to the top face of said upper ply and having dependent tongue- 20 2,474,815

6 like extensions at the areas of its periphery aligned with the outer faces of said cushioning elements which are dependent along and secured to the outer faces of said cushioning elements. 

